Right hardware for PMDG 747?

[United782 0]

As I await the arrival of the PMDG 747-400 I've been using a crappy "un-calibratable" Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. About the 2nd month after having it, the precision went out the window along with the dead zone. Every little touch will cause planes in FS2004 to start turning off the runway and I've tried fixing it with several software dead zone features built into the (horrible) logitech joystick managament software. I don't want to have to deal with this when I'm flying the new 747. I just wanted to know if any of you enthusiasts could recommend a good joystick. I know a flight yoke would be a great option but I'm not looking for one as I also play many games which have fighters and need a good responsive joystick. I'm pretty much become anti-logitech as none of their products seem to impress me. I had a Microsoft Sidewinder Precisoin Pro 2 for 4 years until it finally gave out. I've been looking at saitek (X-52 espeically) and some others but wanted hear your input on this matter. What is going to be the best joystick out there right now?- Tony Snider

[Guest HOTELBRAVO]

hi tonyi'm using the saitek X-52 since a few months and i like it. it is precise and the software give you the possibility to calibrate each of it's axis and their dead zones. you also can programm each button on the stick with your preferred function.but there will be no response like force feedback..regardsdaniel

[michal 44]

Joystick are very personal choice. I like Saitek joysticks and specially Cyborg line - the ones that I can use in my left hand. I don't like military style right hand joysticks. And I see no advantage in using force feedback.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[RMA 0]

How about the hardware thats inside the box? I have an appaulingly slow computer 1.4ghz i think and rubbish graphics card. I want a completly new everything except the peripherals and monitor. Can anyone recomend good hardware that will see me getting excellent frames with the pmdg 744 with all graphics sliders etc set to maximum?I have a budget of about

[Guest Captain Vala]

I've been using a Sidewinder FFB2 joystick for some 3 years now and have been very happy with it. But here's how I use it... since FS9 is not able to create realistic FFB effects, I turn the FFB settings off in the game, and set the original Sidewinder settings at strong back to center mode... and it seems to be doing a good job for me. Incase you came across doing this, there's a couple of other stuff I have to tell you to be able to use it the way I'm talking in the FS so feel free to email me using the link in my profile.Considering the other combat flying games, the performance is always great, if the program is programmed right... and anyways, last time I checked, Sidewinder FFB2 had the highest rankings in the FFB joysticks.Hope this helped.Vala

[767lover 285]

I have both the CH flight yoke and microsoft sidewinder 2 joystick with force feedback. Both are great working products. You can turn off the ffb in FS if you like. I have the joystick now for more than 3 years and it still works like new.Dirk

[ukflight 11]

>i'm using the saitek X-52 since a few months and i like it. it>is precise and the software give you the possibility to>calibrate each of it's axis and their dead zones. you also can>programm each button on the stick with your preferred>function.>but there will be no response like force feedback..I have that as well and find it great. I have a profile for it for FS9 I downloaded from http://www.saitek.com/uk/down/x52pro.htm

[fozzy 1]

Just a comment about the Saitek Joysticks... Having the X45 i find it better than the X52 for the rudder management which is behind the throttle and not as a twist on the main joystick like on the Sidewinder joysticks. Personal tastes... possibly try it before buying one or the other type... :) Luca

[United782 0]

RMA I have a computer on sale at ebay if you'd like to take a look. It does only say shipping in the US but if you're willing to cover a fairly hefty shipping charge I'd be willing to send it. I can run FS with most of the sliders maxed and aircraft sliders completed maxed out in 1280x1024 at 40-60fps.Specs- Pentium 4 2.8Ghz- 1GB DDR PC-3200 RAM- GeForce FX 5900 Ultra- 120GB HD w/ 8MB Cache- Sound Blaster AudigyIf you or anyone else is interested click the following link.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=5219011867- Tony Snider

[G7USL 117]

Joysticks are for 'Joystick controlled aircraft.The 747 has a steering yoke. Nothing else is worth considering. Once you have tried one, you will never go back.'CH' are the way to go IMO and the pedals make it a great twosome.Dave T. .........On the lovely warm Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

[Guest frankathl]

Hi Luca,Very interested that you like the X45. I bought one at a flight simulator show last year and have not been able to use it, as the stick is far too.....,well...,"sticky"! In other words, it's impossible to make small, precise movements with it as it jerks around a lot(the MS Sidewinder, on the other hand, has very little resistance and moves easily in all axes, thanks to optical digital technology).Maybe I have a faulty product, but I remember someone else on these forums made a similar comment once.The separate throttle, on the other hand, works fine.Would welcome further comment from you.BR,Frank

[Guest Captain Vala]

Not to go against what you said Dave, but unfortunately some of us cannot afford or dont have enough space for a CH set. Dont get me wrong, but there also are some personal things that I dont like about CH Yokes.Although I would like to have one here on my desk right now, a CH yoke still is way far from reality... for example it does not come close to simulate even the heaviness of a C-172 yoke... and another thing is, that I dont like the way trimming works on that... its not real like real airplanes with trim. Flying the C-172, the procedure to fix the trim is basically to hold the yoke where it is needed to hold your desired attitude/VS and adjust the trim until the pressure on the yoke is gone. Unfortunately, this does not work with the CH yokes. For the planes with stabilizer trim, it works realistic enough, but again, the heaviness is not even close to the a real jet's yoke. Also, (this is a big deal when it comes to flying heavies) holding the yoke in lets say a 737 REALLY feels different from a CH yoke. At least for me it was a big difference holding a 737 yoke from a C-172, which is a lot closer to CH yoke. The movement of the yoke is a lot different also, in lets say a 747 those yokes more somewhere about 3-4 feet. And let me make it clear that a real airplane yoke, specially an airplane with hydraulic driven control surfaces, does not feel like a spring loaded yoke!!!Now if anybody would come out with a design, not even like a 737 and just a like CH which I dislike, with FORCE FEEDBACK, I would totally go for it... even if I had to pay a lot more!!! That of course also demands an improvement on the FS's FFB codes to work realistic enough. With FFB the resistance can vary, the real trim system can be done correctly, and you also get the feedback from whatever you do.Hope I didnt offend anybody, **EDIT** By the way, FS's FFB simulation is currently so unrealistic that its better for to be kept off... and what I said a few lines up is a theory.-Vala

[G7USL 117]

>Not to go against what you said Dave, but unfortunately some>of us cannot afford or dont have enough space for a CH set. >Dont get me wrong, but there also are some personal things>that I dont like about CH Yokes.>Although I would like to have one here on my desk right now, a>CH yoke still is way far from reality... for example it does>not come close to simulate even the heaviness of a C-172>yoke... and another thing is, that I dont like the way>trimming works on that... its not real like real airplanes>with trim. Flying the C-172, the procedure to fix the trim is>basically to hold the yoke where it is needed to hold your>desired attitude/VS and adjust the trim until the pressure on>the yoke is gone. Unfortunately, this does not work with the>CH yokes. It works fine on mine! All you do is to click the left-hand side grey coloured rocking switch, what could be easier than that? >For the planes with stabilizer trim, it works realistic>enough, but again, the heaviness is not even close to the a>real jet's yoke. Also, (this is a big deal when it comes to>flying heavies) holding the yoke in lets say a 737 REALLY>feels different from a CH yoke. Have you had first hand experience then?At least for me it was a big>difference holding a 737 yoke from a C-172, which is a lot>closer to CH yoke. But there isn't one available that I know of? The movement of the yoke is a lot>different also, in lets say a 747 those yokes more somewhere>about 3-4 feet. And let me make it clear that a real airplane>yoke, specially an airplane with hydraulic driven control>surfaces, does not feel like a spring loaded yoke!!!I have no doubt about what you have said and the pedals don't precisely simulate hydraulic resistance either but without the same kind of systems connected it would be near on impossible.>Now if anybody would come out with a design, not even like a>737 and just a like CH which I dislike, with FORCE FEEDBACK, I>would totally go for it... even if I had to pay a lot more!!! >That of course also demands an improvement on the FS's FFB>codes to work realistic enough. With FFB the resistance can>vary, the real trim system can be done correctly, and you also>get the feedback from whatever you do.>>Hope I didnt offend anybody,No, not me, just trying to help? >>**EDIT** By the way, FS's FFB simulation is currently so>unrealistic that its better for to be kept off... and what I>said a few lines up is a theory.>>-ValaPerhaps within the next ten years, flightsim will be even more 'Real as it Gets' with more sophisticated and better simulated hardware but at what cost, I wonder?For now though, I cannot go back to a joystick as joystick response is much much too sharp to simulate any 'heavy'.Dave T. .........On the lovely warm Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

[Guest Captain Vala]

David,>"All you do is to click the left-hand side grey coloured rocking switch, what could be easier than that?"See Dave, to me its not about easy ness, its about reality, and that's not how its done in real. There is no center of spring force in real aircraft controls. When your engine's off in a single engine, or if you have not picked up any airspeed in any aircraft, there is almost no resistance on the controls, and absolutely no center for the controls to stay at. In other words, you can just pull the yoke back, or turn it in a direction, and it will stay there, except in smaller airplanes where the gravity pulls down on your elevator and it will stay down, until you pick up airspeed or turn on your engine, if its a single engine. Trimming is designed to hold the yoke/elevators/ailerons/rudder at the position you desire, and with a spring loaded yoke, THAT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE!!!>"Have you had first hand experience then?"Well, sort of. I've got some 100 hours flying various GA planes, and I've been around airliner cockpits quite a lot; Been on Level D sims, and of course tried the CH yoke.>"But there isn't one available that I know of?"Let me rephrase what I mentioned: I meant to say that 737's yoke feel a lot different from a Cessna's yoke, and a CH yoke is trying to simulate a Cessna style yoke.>"For now though, I cannot go back to a joystick as joystick response is much much too sharp to simulate any 'heavy'."Yea I agree, except if there's a nicely simulated FBW system. But I still manage to do fine with my joystick... just gotta be a little gentle ;)-Vala